Irene straightened, and I could see her slipping into what I'd started thinking of as her 'diplomatic mode'.
"The northern territories were designated for a specific purpose," she began. "The Ishgar Empire needs—"
"The Ishgar Empire," Bahamut interrupted with a snort that sent sparks flying, "can find somewhere else to expand. I claimed this land by right of conquest. I have held it for three centuries. It is mine."
"But you're here under the protection of an artifact that isn't yours," I said, finally speaking up. I kept my voice level, but I could feel my patience wearing thin. "You're basically squatting on someone else's property while using someone else's security system."
Bahamut's massive head swung toward me, and those burning eyes narrowed to slits. "And what would a human know of dragon law? Of conquest and territory?"
"I know enough," I replied calmly. "I know that the artifact protecting this continent from Acnologia was placed here by its rightful king."
The temperature around us seemed to drop several degrees as Bahamut's expression grew dangerous.
"King?" Bahamut's voice carried the menace of an approaching storm. "What king?"
"Me," I said simply. "This continent, these territories - they're mine. So really, this isn't a negotiation between equals. This is me asking nicely for you to move."
For a moment, the only sound was the eternal thunder overhead. Then Bahamut threw back his massive head and laughed - a sound like lightning splitting the sky.
"Oh, this is rich! You expect me, Bahamut the Storm Dragon King, to bow to a mere human whelp?"
"I'm not asking you to bow," I said.
"I'm asking you to relocate. We can find you somewhere else, somewhere that suits your nature better. Hell, I'll even help you set it up. But these territories are going to the Ishgar Empire, as promised."
Bahamut's laughter cut off abruptly. "You'll help me?" The condescension in his voice was thick enough to cut. "How generous of you, little human. But I have a better idea."
His massive form began to shift, electricity crackling more intensely around his scales. "Why don't you try to make me leave?"
And there it is. Diplomacy officially failed.
Irene stepped forward quickly, raising her hands in a placating gesture. "Bahamut, please. There's no need for violence. We can work something out—"
"Violence?" Bahamut's voice was pure mockery now. "Belserion, this won't be violence. This will be a lesson. A reminder of what happens when humans forget their place."
He reared up to his full, imposing height, wings spreading wide enough to cast shadows across the mountainside. "I ruled the skies when your ancestors were learning to make fire, boy. I commanded storms before your species had language. And you dare claim dominion over me?"
Lightning began to gather around his massive form, and I could feel the magical pressure building in the air. This was going to get ugly fast.
Well, I tried to be reasonable.
I glanced at Irene, who was looking between us with obvious worry. "You might want to step back," I told her quietly.
"Just don't kill him, please," she whispered.
"Fine."
Bahamut's eyes blazed brighter. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this. It's been far too long since I've had the pleasure of putting an arrogant human in their place."
"Last chance," I said. "Don't do this."
"Or what?" Bahamut snarled
I smiled as golden portals manifested all around us.
"Before you regret it."
Bahamut's response was immediate and devastating. Lightning erupted from his form, not a single bolt but a storm of electrical fury that turned the air itself into plasma. The attack was powerful enough to level mountains, and fast enough that most beings wouldn't even see it coming.
Unfortunately for him I am not most beings as I easily caught it with my bare hand.
The lightning writhed and crackled against my skin like a living thing, but it couldn't penetrate.
"Huh," I said as I crushed the lightning in my fist and let the energy dissipate harmlessly. "That was not bad."
Bahamut's eyes had gone wide with shock and something that might have been fear.
I took a step forward, and reality seemed to ripple around me. "But is that it?"
"Impossible," he snarled.
"My turn."
The golden portals I'd opened around us began to glow brighter, as weapons began to materialize within each portal.
The first wave launched without warning. A dozen legendary spears shot forward like golden meteors, each one capable of piercing dragon scales and enchanted to slay dragons specifically.
They moved at supersonic speeds, ready to hit Bahamut from multiple angles simultaneously.
The storm dragon reacted faster than I'd expected, his massive wings beating once to launch himself skyward while lightning erupted from his body in all directions. He managed to deflect some of the spears with raw electrical energy, but the other nine found their mark.
"Gah!" Bahamut roared as the legendary weapons pierced his scales, drawing lines of blood across his midnight-blue hide. The wounds weren't deep enough to be fatal, but they were definitely painful.
I gestured for the second wave. Thirty-six weapons of various types launched in a carefully orchestrated pattern, each one following a different trajectory to eliminate any possible escape route.
Bahamut tried to counter with another lightning storm, but the weapons cut through his electrical barriers like they were made of tissue paper.
Several more weapons found their mark, and now Bahamut was looking genuinely concerned. Golden ichor dripped from multiple wounds, and his flight pattern was becoming more erratic as he tried to avoid the increasingly complex attack patterns.
Bahamut landed heavily on a nearby peak, his massive claws digging furrows in the stone. "Who are you?" he demanded, his voice carrying a note of something that might have been respect mixed with fear.
"Aiden Leonhart" I replied, the golden portals continuing to multiply around us. "King of the Fairies."
I continued, my voice echoing across the mountainside. "You have exactly ten seconds to decide whether you want to relocate peacefully, or whether you want to find out what happens when I stop holding back.
"Surrender now, or face the consequences."
Bahamut's burning eyes swept across the sea of weapons pointed at him, then he stared at me.
Finally, he spoke, but not with the words I expected.
"Kill me," he said quietly, and there was something broken in his voice that I hadn't heard before. "Just... make it quick."
I blinked.
Bahamut's massive head drooped.
"You want me gone from these territories? There's nowhere else for me to go. This place... this has been my home for three centuries. The only home I've had since..."
Shit. Now I feel bad.
I've been treating this like he was just some territorial asshole. But he's not squatting - he's a refugee.
"My mate. My hatchlings. My brothers and sisters." Bahamut's voice was barely above a whisper now. "All gone. I fled here like a coward while they died. These mountains... they're all I have left. The only place where their memory isn't drowned in blood."
I sighed.
I dismissed the portals with a thought, the weapons vanishing back into the Celestial Inventory.
"Then," I said, "I have a different proposition for you."
Bahamut's massive head tilted slightly, curiosity overriding his despair. "What proposition?"
"Serve me," I said simply.
The storm dragon stared at me for a long moment, clearly not expecting this turn in the conversation.
"What?"
The storm dragon stared at me for a long moment, clearly not expecting this turn in the conversation.
I continued, "the continent is going to need protection. There are threats out there bigger than territorial disputes. Acnologia is still out there somewhere. And when I'm not around..." I gestured to the storm-wracked peaks around us. "Someone needs to keep an eye on things."
Bahamut was quiet for a long time, processing this unexpected offer. When he finally spoke, his voice carried a weight that hadn't been there before.
"You would trust me? After what I was? After what I did"
"People and Dragons change," I said.
Bahamut was quiet for another long moment. Then, slowly, his massive form began to shift and shrink. Light enveloped him as he took his human form - a tall, imposing man with midnight-blue hair and those same burning azure eyes.
He dropped to one knee on the storm-torn stone.
"I, Bahamut, Storm Dragon King of the Northern Peaks, pledge my service to Aiden Leonhart, King of this continent," he said formally. "My power, my knowledge, my life - all are yours to command."
I walked over and offered him my hand. "I looked forward to it."
Bahamut took my hand and rose, a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "Thank you... my king."
"Good," I said, then gestured to the storm-wracked landscape around us. "Now, about those perpetual thunderstorms. Think you could dial it back a bit? The Ishgar Empire is still going to need some of this territory, and I'd prefer they don't get struck by lightning every five minutes."
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